Operation Christmas Child is a Mission Project that FBC is involved in each year.

For more information please contact our church office: 870-946-4361

First Baptist Church is recruiting other churches and organizations in the Arkansas County area to help fill shoe boxes with small gifts and candy for children around the world in cooperation with Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, the international Christian relief organization headed by Franklin Graham. Children, families, churches and groups fill empty shoe boxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene items, photos, and personal letters, then Operation Christmas Child delivers them around the world to girls and boys suffering from poverty, war, disease, disaster and terrorism.

First Baptist Church hosts an annual fundraiser meal where members donate funds to help fill the shoeboxes and ship them to a collection center in another state. First Baptist has a collection goal of 400 boxes and hopes to collect many more boxes from DeWitt residents and the surrounding area this year."This is a great opportunity to involve the whole community in a project that touches the lives of children a world away from us. For most of their lives, these children have only known suffering and hurt, so the opportunity to reach them and their families through a simple shoe box is a privilege. This project presents a wonderful way to share the life-changing message of Jesus Christ with hurting children worldwide," said Joyce Hargrove, who is coordinating the local collection. Along with the shoe boxes, children are offered Gospel storybooks and invited to learn more about Jesus through a follow-up discipleship program.

Operation Christmas Child transcends the barriers of language, culture, geography and politics. Abby Peterson, raised in an orphanage in Russia, will never forget her shoe box because it contained the first doll she had ever received. "A shoe box really can make a difference. I remember how great it made me feel to know that someone I didn't even know cared about me."

First Baptist Church is located at 322 W. First St, in DeWitt and will receive the gift-filled shoe boxes from area churches and the surrounding communities during Operation Christmas Child's National Collection Week, November 18-25, 2013. Additional information can be received from the church office at 870-946-4361.